Retail marketing device



SePt- 22, 1942- H. F. BRANsTETTl-:R ETAL 2,296,700

y RETAIL MARKETING DEVICE l Filed Jur-1e 2e, 1940 di?. a;

@MW/w@ WM Patented Sept. 22, 1942 RETAIL MARKETINGDEVICE Herman F. "Branstetter' andv lBertha (W. Branstetter, Hendersonville, N. C.

Application June 26, 1940, Serial No. 342,586

2 Claims.

This invention relates Ito marketing devices andmore particularly to such devices for use -in conjunction with the retail :merchandizing of dairyproducts. This application is a continua- "ti'on-in-part of Herman F. Branstetter et al. ap-

plication Serial Number294,976,'led September 14, 1939.

In the' retail sale of milk, it is fnow customary yfor .a delivery agent lto make `do-or-to-door deliveries leaving the 'milk at the custo-mers house, and, fat thesame time, collecting any empty receptacles left lat the point of `delivery by the customer. Ordinarily, the receptacles, which-are usually bottles, Whether empty andV intended for return @tothe dairy, or full and intended for thecustomer,A are merely set on a convenient level surface near the door of the customers dwelling. However, when so positioned, containers KAare -likely to be upset or otherwise disturbe'd 'by-prowlingdomestic pets or by heavy winds, in either case the result being frequent breakage of bottles and consequent loss of their contents.

Aside from the foregoing, a problem that is continually presented in conjunction with the retail sale of dairy products arises as an incident to the augmentation or other modification of standing orders. Generally, the customer efiects an order change by leaving a note in the empty milk bottle advising the delivery agent of the desired modification of the usual order. This note, when placed in the top of a receptacle, is completely exposed to the elements and may be blown away resulting in disappointment to the customer and incident embarrassment to the dairy, or may be rendered illegible because of the action of rain thereupon.

In some parts of the country it has been proposed, in order to expedite the sale of dairy products, to sell books of tickets, each ticket having a specified exchange value for dairy products. A discount can be allowed to purchasers of an entire book of tickets, this being accomplished by setting an exchange value for each ticket in excess of its cost when purchased in book lots. The system, of course, has also the advantage of considerably reducing collection diiculties and bookkeeping costs. However, since the tickets used in the purchase of dairy products marketed according to this scheme are left with the empty milk bottle for collection by the delivery agent, the same diiculty as that encountered in conjunction with order modifications has arisen, namely, the tickets being susceptible to the action of natural forces are either Ydestroyed or lost before the appointed time Afor delivery of lthe product 'and-collection ;of Ithe ticket.

It is therefore an object of this inventionlfto overcome all of the foregoing difcul-ties-a-nd to further the retailmarketing of dairy products in ,an lefficient manner.

It is within "the contemplation of this invention to wholly protectdel-ivery receptacles from accidental displacement whether -the receptacle be Yfuller empty, and, at Yrthe .same time, to providefor the pr-otectionlof any written memoranda in conjunction with the sale whether this be -data relating to orders or tickets hav-ingeexchange `valueas regards the products sold.

rIlhe present invention includes an easilyassembled device ofvgood appearance and low-cost to accomplish ,the protection of the marketed product as well as ,any memoranda incident to the .sale thereof.

Other objectsand advantages of 'the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof in connection with the annexed drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device;

Figure 2 is a view in section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a view in section taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing in greater detail, the deviceshown consists of three parts, an attaching plate I0, a generally cylindrical member II and a box I`2.

As will be seen upon reference to Figure 2 of the drawings, attaching plate I0 is flat and generally rectangular in configuration. Openings I3 and I4 are provided therein so that the device as a whole may be supported from a generally vertical surface, it being necessary only to pass the larger portion of openings I3 and I4 over the heads of supporting nails or screws and thereafter permitting the device to shift by action of gravity so that the shank of the attaching member will lie within the smaller portions of openings I3 and I4.

Cylindrical member Il is a rectangular sheet of metal deformed into substantially cylindrical shape, the free ends of the sheet being soldered or otherwise attached to plate I0 at I5 and IB. Ordinarily, the area defined by member II and a portion of plate I0 will be of a diameter sufcient to accommodate a milk bottle of conventional design.

Underlying member II is box I2 which ls formed of a generally cross-shaped blank. 'Ihe blank when folded comprises a box having dei-lning walls Il, I8 I9 and 20. Box wall II is of a length slightly in excess of the diameter of the generally cylindrical member I I. This additional length is represented by flanges 2| and 22. Flange 2| is bent upwardly and soldered or other- Wise attached to attaching plate IU while ange 22 is similarly bent and attached to cylindrical member II at a point diametrically opposite the point of attachment of ange 2|. Walls I8 and I8 extend downwardly at right angles to side I1 while side 20 is composed of the ends of the blank attached at 23, side 20 being parallel to side I1.

It will be noted that side 20 is of a length less than the diameter of cylindrical member II and that the forward edges of walls I8 and I9 are bevelled to extend in a straight line between long Wall Il and short wall 20. By this arrangement, a ticket or memorandum placed within box I2 will be readily removable and at the same time is protected from Wind and rain. The delivery agent may grasp the protruding end 24 of a ticket as disclosed in Figure 3.

As far as the dening walls I'I, I8, I9 and 2U are concerned, box I2 is open at both ends. However, because of the position of the box with regard to attachment plate I0, that plate will function as a wall at the rear end of the box.

Wall I'I of box I2 functions as a bottom support for any container placed within cylindrical member II. Since Wall I'I underlies only a part of the area surrounded by member I I it will be clear that drainage of condensation or other liquids which may be present on the outside of a container such as a milk bottle may be accomplished while at the same time the bottle is adequately supported and the written memoranda in the box is protected. As an additional protection for the interior of box I2 against water, seam 23 is located in the bottom wall 20 rather than in the top or side walls.

While a specic form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be recognized that many modications thereof are possible Within the scope of the invention as dened in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A retail marketing device for dairy products and the like comprising, means for attachment to a Vertical surface, means cooperating with a portion of said first-named means adapted to gird a container or the like, and a box adapted to contain written memoranda, one of the dening walls of said box being attached to the means for attachment to a vertical surface and extending therefrom at a right angle to underlie only a portion of the girded area, said Wall being attached also to said second-named means at a point diametrically opposite the point of attachment to the first-named means.

2. A retail marketing device for dairy products and the like comprising, means for attachment to a vertical surface, means cooperating with a portion of said rst-named means adapted to gird a container or the like, and a box adapted to contain written memoranda, one of the defining walls of said box being attached to the means for attachment to a vertical surface and extending therefrom at a right angle to underlie only a portion of the girded area, said Wall being attached also to said second-named means at a point diametrically opposite the point of attachment to the first-named means, another of the dening Walls of said box underlying and extending parallel to said attached wall for a distance less than the length of said attached wall.

HERMAN F. BRANSTETTER. BERTHA W. BRANSTETTER. 

